RO systems and set-up

[apisto-nut]

Just wondering what others do about high waste water amounts from there RO units and what can be done to reduce or eliminate it .

I have read that there is RO units with less waste water or is there a way to feed the waste water back into my house water system " recirculate with some kind of pump " ?

 

[Lisachromis]

Use it for Africans?

 

[aquaticclarity]

EAST Africans :biggrin:

Jeff

 

[ed seeley]

My waste output water goes straight into my Koi pond!

You can apparently piggy back another RO membrane on the back to reduce the waste water. There's some info on this commercial site where they offer the kits http://www.ro-man.com/shop/index.php

If you're just setting it up I would really recomend fitting an automatic top-up kit. I have a 100l barrel in my garage and when I take water out of it from the tap at the base the Ro unit then kicks in and tops up the barrel until it's full. It's far quicker to get the water when you need it and I can do water changes on all my tanks in an afternoon without having to wait hours to get the RO water.

 

[apisto-nut]

Lisa + Aquatic there are NO Africans in this house :tongue: .

Ed I do have it set-up with a shut-off too my 2X 45 g barrels .

I was just wondering if anyone had put a pump on the waste water line to put it back in to the house line that maybe feeds the hot water tank as that would eliminate the waste water or at least reuse it ?

 

[beleg]

This is also main reason i didn't plan to go for RO.. I mean so much water wasted seems absurd to me. Fresh water is a rare and important source. This year dams in Istanbul are at only %35 . We have no water to waste.. Is it possible to re use the waste water? Perhaps by directing it in to a big water bin , is there enough pressure in the system to lift the water up to the ceiling to fill the bin??

 

[inexorable]

I have a RO question: my tap water here in NYC is quite soft, relative to tap water found elsewhere around the country. I am curious if softer water, when run through a RO unit, would produce less waste water than water with more hardness.

Dave

 

[Mike Wise]

Not really. Most home R/O membranes work on water line pressure (40-60 psi) and designed to produce 4:1 waste water:R/O. The only difference is that your waste water (like mine) will be lower in TDS compared to other parts of the country with much harder water. There are commercial grade R/O units that work with a high pressure membrane & pump system. These produce much less waste water, but the costs of such systems are more than most homeowners can afford.

My water values are similar to yours. For most fish I use tap water, but for blackwater species I treat the tap water with peat. I only use R/O water (filtered through peat) for my most demanding blackwater species like A. uaupesi, A. sp. Abacaxis, A. sp. Breitbinden, & Ivanacara adoketa.

 

[_BaDgUy_]

The water at my place is relatively soft, but I still use a RO unit for my Apistogramma species.

However, I do have some livebearers and other species of fish that require a slightly alkaline water, so most of the waste water from the RO unit goes into those tanks.

Also, I use the waste water to water some plants around the house.

I'd say I re-use about 80% of the waste water.

I might even try some cooking with the waste water if the occasion comes up, like a pasta meal the same day I'm running the RO.